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Day Trip from Rome: The Old Frascati Wine Tour

Writer's picture: Ali DobbsAli Dobbs

The vineyard aka heaven on earth

You absolutely can’t go to Italy without a trip to a vineyard, so look no further than the Old Frascati Wine Tour.


The vineyard is a beautifully scenic 30 minute trip from Rome’s main train station, which brings you to Frascati, a tiny town with a rich history of everything from the Pope to World War II. As soon as you get off of the train, you’re greeted by the fabulous guide, and the tour immediately begins with a walk through the town.

You learn about all of the incredible history as you wind your way along the ancient streets and into various local shops to try selections of wine and food. You stop to try authentic porchetta, a delicious, fatty pork roast, which is so good you’ll be begging for seconds. You also get to meet the wonderful owners of a bakery, one of whom is 95 years old and STILL cranking out cookies and bread every day. The wine tasting begins even before you get to the vineyard, with a few samples of house wine from the local shops to wash down all of the treats you get to enjoy.

The bakery

The very gracious guide helps load you into a few cars for the quick trip to the vineyard, where you immediately get a tour around the property and get to learn all about the winemaking and history of the vineyard. You even get to see the wine cellar, where they have dozens of bottles, including a number of bottles from the 1945 season that celebrated the end of the war, and are only opened on special occasions, such as weddings in the family. All of this is explained by the lovely Paola, one of the extremely knowledgeable winemakers.

Where the wine is made

Then your group gets led to a beautiful and quaint dining room overlooking the property, where you taste each of their wines paired with fresh breads from the bakery in town and olive oil made right at the vineyard.

Just when you think your perfect day is over, you’re whisked away back to town with bottles of wine from the vineyard to enjoy a lovely authentic lunch with your tour group. I’ve been on this tour a few times, and the first time we had a small group of only 5 of us in the whole tour, so we had a nice quiet prix-fixe menu of some delicious classic dishes. The second time, I was part of a larger tour group of maybe 15-20 people, so we had a huge family-style table in one of the local restaurants and had a buffet assortment of appetizers, along with a pasta dish we could order from a selection. Both times the experience and the atmosphere was personal and memorable, and part of the reason it’s been so fun for me to go back.

The rest of the afternoon is then yours; you can explore more of the town, shop, or get back on the train to Rome. The trains run every hour, so if you miss one it isn’t the end of the world because there are plenty of adorably quaint sites to see in Frascati. Be warned: Italians often take a siesta in the middle of the afternoon where many shops and restaurants close for a few hours between lunch and dinner. The timing of this can be a bummer if you want to stay in Frascati and explore but everything is closed for the afternoon. Take advantage of the shops during the tour through town so you can buy fresh baked goods or souvenirs early on so that you don’t get to your favorite shop after lunch only to find it closed.

I could gush about the Old Frascati Wine Tour forever, as it has truly been one of my favorite Italian experiences. Like I said, I’ve been twice already, and I have recommended it as an activity to anyone and everyone I know. No one is ever disappointed. The tour is personal and every detail is perfect. You get to experience the soul of Frascati, a town in the hills outside of Rome that not many would ever think to visit. If you are ever lucky enough to go, make sure to tell Doninique that I sent you!



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